On P List of Movie Reviews

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The Paper Chase (1973)

Rate: 9
Viewed: 10/15

Paperchase
10/15: Forget Educating Rita which is a hogwash picture about college.

The real deal is The Paper Chase because it offers the most accurate perspective of what graduate school is like. Timothy Bottoms' and John Houseman's performances are incredible with the latter netting him an Oscar win.

A lot of viewers thought Timothy Bottoms' character was arrogant and stuck-up, but personally, I felt he played the role to perfection. Kingsfield reminds me of some mathematics professors I had because of their personalities. His putdowns on the students are very typical, believe me.

Kevin Brooks is an interesting character, too, and many people can identify with him. In fact, all of the characters are identifiable, and I've met many who are just like them. My opinion is that Kevin took things too far because he was studying law at Harvard which is the highest standard imaginable. If Kevin can't hack the work, he should've transfered to a state school to make things easier on himself and will still be an accomplished individual, regardless.

All in all, The Paper Chase can be either inspiring or too painful for anyone not wanting to relive the memories of graduate school.